Inside the Numbers

Roadfly has obtained production figures for various manufacturers through the first half of calendar year 2003. Think your car is rare? Check these out:

Total Bentleys sold: 132
Total Rolls-Royces sold: 41
Total Maybachs sold: 13
Margin advantage, Toyota sales over Ford sales: 4,517
Toyota's share of the U.S. market: 11%

Maybach dealerships: 67
Total Amount Spent on Automotive Ads for the First Quarter of 2003: $2,201,334,300

Lexus Tops List

Lexus was named as the most reliable brand according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Vehicle Dependability Study. The 2000 LS 400 beat all the competition by averaging only 104 problems per 100 vehicles. The industry average is 273. This is the ninth consecutive year that Lexus took home the top honors.

Infiniti finished second with 174 problems per 100 vehicles behind the 163 mark that Lexus set. Surprisingly, Buick finished third at 179, while Porsche scored 193 problems per 100 vehicles. BMW ranked above the industry average at 262, and Mercedes-Benz finished below the average for the second consecutive year with 318 problems.

J.D. Power and associates declined to announce the worst performing car, but Kia finished as the lowest make with 509 problems per 100 vehicles.

The three-year study used a sample pool of 55,000 respondents to questions about their vehicle dependability.

Porsche Launches Certified Used Car Program

The last holdout in the luxury class finally gave its dealers what they have been wanting for years. Similar programs have been successful at bringing in new buyers to a brand, and Porsche dealers wanted in on the action.

The program certifies a 4- to 8-year old car that is no longer under warranty for an additional two years and up to 100,000 miles.

Recent studies such as the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Used Vehicle Sales and Certification Study have found that consumers who buy certified used cars are more likely to become loyal customers to the brand. More than a third of certified used car buyers said they would return to the same dealership for their next purchase, while only 23 percent of non-certified used car buyers said the same.